Method of applying can closures



Dec. 24, 1929. P. E. PEARSON ET AL METHOD OF APPLYING CAN CLOSURES Filed Nov v sheet metal cans of that type having their Patented Dec. 24, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PAUL E. PEARSON AND MERTON L. DODGE, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNORS TO SEATTLE ASTORIA IRON WORKS, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, A CORPORATION OF WASHINGTON METHOD F APPLYIN G CAN CLOSURES Application led November 28, 1927. Serial No. 236,222.

This invention relates to improvements in closure and re-inforcing ring and in the can construction and more partlcularlyv to method of assembling them for application to the can body by a double seamer.

ends seamed onto the body in a permanent, air-tight connection; and wherein one end is formed from a material which will meet all of the requirements of the ordinarily used tin end, in so far as sealing the can is concerned, but which is distinguished therefrom in that it can be easily cut out andremoved by use of an ordinary knife or other sharp instrument and does not require use of a can opener or other mechanical device for this purpose.

Heretofore, the use of a thin soft metal, such as taggers tin for can closures has been attempted but without desirable results prinr cipally by reason of the fact that such nonconfoimative material cannot be seamed onto a can body by use of modern, double seaming machinery.l The reason for this is that lack of stiffness of the material permits it to buckle and wrinkle up under pressure of the seamin'g rolls so that a defective seam invariably results; a seam that is not air-tight or smooth.

In the present instance the heretoforeexperienced diiiiculties resulting from buckling, wrinkling or deforming by the double seamer of ends of a non-conformative material have been overcome, by the application of a reinforcing ring of a comformative material over the'peripheral portion of the closure which is seamed to the can body by the action of the seamer rolls; this ring being of such character and is so assembled with the closure that they may be fed into and passed through the double seamer, as in the ordinary manner, and the closure seamed onto the body Without buckling or any other defects, .thus insurlng a seam that is satisfactory in all respects; this reinforcing ring being of such proportions that it embraces only the seam and will permit severing the closure from the can body in a smooth cut, fiush with the inner surface of the body and Without leaving any' ragged edge that might cause injury to one in removing the contents of the can.

The principal objects of the invention reside in the details of construction of the In accomplishing these objects, We have provided the improved details of construction, the preferred forms of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, Where- 1n- Figure lis an enlarged, cross sectional view illustrating the seamed connection with the can body of a can closure construction embodied by the present invention.

Figure 2 is a similar view of a modified construction.

Figure 3 is a sectional detail through the reinforcing ring and rim of the cover; the parts being disassembled.

Figure 4. is a cross sectional detail of the ls)arcr11e as assembled for application to the can Figure 5 is a sectional detail illustrating the assembled relation of the cover and reinforcing ring asapplied to the can body preparatory to seaming together.

Figure 6 is a sectional view showing the application of a friction top to the can after the closure has been seamed.

Figure 7 is a the manner of cutting out the closure.

Referring more in detail to the drawings- 1 designates what may be a tin can or container of the ordinary type of construction to which an end closure 2 is applied in accordance with details of the present invention which deals particularly with the construction, method of ap lication and the subsel quent cutting out o the end for removal of contents of the can. It will be stated here that, while both ends of a can could be applied in this manner if such should be desired, it is intended in the present instance that only one be so applied and that this end be suitably designated so as to cause no confusion in selecting the proper end to be opened. A .e T

In the present construction, the removable end, designated by reference numeral 2, is stamped in the usual manner from a sheet of thin, flexible and easily cut material, such as .taggers tin', cardboard, celluphane, oiled,r

perspective view illustrating goo - flange 4. Atl the upper end ofthe can body,

is an out-turned peripheral iange 5 Vbeneath which the flange 4 of the end is clinched and vseamed by action of the double seamer in closing the can.

As was previously stated, heretofore the diliiculty encountered was that in seaming the ends onto the bodies, the lack of stiffness of the end pieces permitted them to buckle in the seams and thus produce defective connections, but in the present construction this un desirable result is avoided by the application of an annular reinforcing ring 6 of relatively stiff metal, such as the tin ordinarily used in :can ends or bodies, over the peripheral flange 4 of the end piece as shown in Figure 4, and after being so assembled therewith and the closure applied to the end of the can body; as in Figure 5, the can is passed through the double seamer so that the ring is seamed onto the body simultaneously with the seaming on of the closure.

A very important feature' of the present invention resides in the method of assembling the reinforcing rings with the closure members so that the closures may be stacked and then fed from the stack into the double seamer for seaming onto the can bodies. Each ring and closure is stamped out in the cross sectional form as shown in Figure 3, after which the ring is applied to the closure and passed through a machine whereby the outer rim of the ring is curled inwardly as at 6a in Figure 4. so as to secure the ring to the closure. When so assembled there is no possibility of the parts becoming disassociated in the seamer and, in addition, the curling of the flanges also permits an easy entrance between stacked closures of a separator device used in connection with a feed slide whereby the closures are delivered int-o the seamer. Closures so constructed are handled. in the application of a sealing compound thereto and also in the seaming operation'. in exactly the same manner as is the ordinary tin end.

In Figure 5 is shown the placingr of the reinforcing ring 6 on the closure 2 preparatory to seaming and,v in Figure 6, the parts are shown as theyappear in cross section after the sea-m is formed. This figure shows the flange 5 of the can body l to be bent outwardly 4and downwardly and the outer edge portions of the flange 4 of theclosure and of the ring 6 to be curled downwardly over this Hange 5 and then turned up beneath it and the parts clinched or pressed tightly7 together.V The inneredge of the reinforcing ring '6 is Hattened tightly along the corking shoulder 3 o-f the closure and it terminates flush against the depressed central portion of the closure.

In Figure 2, we have illustrated a modification, wherein the flange 4 of the closure terminates at the outside of the flange 5 and is not tucked upwardly beneath it as in Figure 1. For some purposes this construction is desirable.`

It is not 'thought necessary to describe the seamingoperation in detail, it being thought sufficient to say that, after the reinforcing ring is applied to the closure, they are seamed onto the body by the double seamer in the same manner as if the ring was an integral part of the end piece.

In this construction` a seam that is air-tight and satisfactory in all respects is produced since the reinforcing ring 6 embraces the flange of the end in the seam and positively j prevents any buckling or warping that, with- 'for can end closures. It makes possible the use of celluphane, which because of its transparency is desired especially by candy manufacturers as it permits visible inspection of the contents of the container. Ordinarily, celluphane cannot be so used because of the impossibility of seaming it in an air-tight connection onto the can end. It permits the use also of desirable closures of other nonconformative materials, Such as cardboard. waxed paper, fabric, etc., which by reason of their flexibility, or lack of stiffness and ability to be formed by the double seamer action, cannot ordinarily be sea-med onto a can body but which, by use of the present reinforcing ring, are made applicable slnce an air-tightv 'and permanent seam is possible. Also, such closures may be easily cut out by use of an ordinary knife applied so as to sever the same adjacent the ring, as shown in Figure 7, and this will provide a full end opening of the Can.

received, remains constant.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The method of assembling the reinforcing ring and closure and of applying them to `a can of the character described, which consists of applying the reinforcing ring to the closure, securing the two together in this assembled relation, placing the closure and ring thus assembled over the end of the can body and then seaming it to the body.

2. The method of assembling the parts of the closure and of securing the closure to the can which consists of forming the closure,

forming the ring and applying it to the closure, curling the edge of the ring beneath the periphery of the closure to retain them in assembled relation, placing the closure over the nd of the can body and seaming it to the ody.

3. A method of making cans of the character described, which consists of separately preparing the bodies, closures and re-inforcing rings, assembling the rings with the closures, then feeding assembled closures and reinforcing rings to a double seaming machine, then feeding bodies to the double seaming machine for assembling and seaming of the closures to the bodies.

Signed at Seattle, ashington, this 12th day of November, 1927.

PAUL E. PEARSON. MERTON L. DODGE. 

